Category Archives: Stefan Wornig

The Prince George Spruce Kings were faced to make a move in goal with word that veteran Stefan Wornig is out for the season with muscle cramps. Wornig hasn’t played a game for PG since the beginning of November after amassing a 6-6-2 record with a 2.76 GAA, a .908 save percentage and one shutout this season.

The 19-year-old from Surrey, BC came to the Spruce Kings in the off-season after two years with Powell River. His BCHL career record is 17-28-2 with a 3.22 GAA, a .905 save percentage, and two shutouts. Wornig has been placed on long-term injury reserve by Prince George.

To fill the void left by Wornig’s absence, the Spruce Kings have signed Aris Anagnostopoulos from the junior B Kamloops Storm. The 18-year-old was an affiliate player for PG this season, playing 9:04 in a game against Salmon Arm on November 26th. He made five saves and didn’t give up a goal. This season in the KIJHL, the Kelowna, BC product is 7-7-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .916 save percentage along with two shutouts.

Photo credit: Ben Raffler/Twitter

Powell River has released defenceman Ben Raffler after acquiring Matthew Cairns via trade from Georgetown of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The 18-year-old Raffler skated in 18 games with the Kings this season, putting up three assists. The Burnaby, BC product had his junior B rights traded from Comox Valley to Campbell River in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League in November, and he’ll join the Storm now after being released by Powell River.

Photo credit: Keystone/TI-Press/Gabriele Putzu

Forward Andrew Ebbett (Salmon Arm, 2001-02) has signed a two-year contract extension with Bern of the Swiss League. The Vernon, BC native has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 18 games with Bern this season, his second with the club. He recently tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) for Team Canada as it captured the 90th Spengler Cup. The 34-year-old is a veteran of 224 career NHL games with Anaheim, Chicago, Minnesota, Phoenix, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh.

Photo credit: Vancouver Canucks/Facebook

Goaltender Michael Garteig (Quesnel AP/Powell River/Penticton, 2008-12) is on his way back to the ECHL after being assigned to the Alaska Aces by the AHL’s Utica Comets. In four games for the Comets this season, the Prince George, BC product has a record of 0-1-1, a goals against average of 2.85, and a save percentage of .907. The 25-year-old has played eight games this season for the Aces, with a record of 7-1-0, a 2.35 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

The BCHL was very prominent in the annual Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game on Tuesday in Oakville, Ontario as Team West edged Team East 3-2.

With 12 players from the BCHL on Team West, it was 17-year-old Penticton Vees defenseman Jarod Hilderman who played hero as he scored the winning goal with just 7.3 seconds left in the third period in addition to his first period marker. Interestingly enough, Hilderman doesn’t have a goal for the Vees through 40 games played this season. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Chilliwack Chiefs forward Jordan Kawaguchi had the other goal for Team West. A write up on the game is here.

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NHL Central Scouting released its midterm rankings for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and there are five BCHL players featured, two forwards, two defenseman and one goaltender.

Leading the way is 17-year-old Langley forward Marcus Vela, who is ranked 123rd overall among North American skaters. Next is 17-year-old Vernon forward Liam Finlay at 189th. 18-year-old Chilliwack defenseman Vincent Desharnais comes in at 208th, while 18-year-old Penticton blueliner Gabe Bast is ranked 209th. Stefan Wornig, who is 17, is ranked 22nd among all North American goaltenders. The NHL’s official release of the rankings is here.

According to the OJHL transactions page, Bandesha was released by the Flyers on January 6th, which means any team across Canada was eligible to sign him as a free agent, which is exactly what the Express did. I’ve adjusted the Trade Tracker on the previous post, so it’s accurate when being referred to in the future.

Forward Joey Holka (Penticton, 2008-11) was released by the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies, eleven days after signing a contract. Holka had no points in three games with the Grizzlies.

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Rugged forward Tyler Barr (Coquitlam AP, Langley AP, Merritt, 2005-09) has been released by the Allen Americans of the ECHL, after he was loaned to the team back on January 12th by the SPHL’s Louisiana IceGators. Barr had two points (one goal, one assist) in four games with the Americans. The North Vancouver, BC, product has two assists in nine games with Louisiana this season.

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Forward Nicolais Gomerich (Powell River, 2014-15) has resurfaced in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Wellington Dukes. The 18-year-old played 21 games with Powell River this season, scoring five points (two goals, three assists) before being released by the Kings. He signed with the Dukes officially on January 9th.